FRUIT GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



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here to state that we have room for a million people, but only- 

 want the best. Of our seasons it may be said we have but two, 

 "wet" and "dry," though the terms are misleading and convey 

 impressions foreign to the facts. The following " pen picture " 

 of our procession of the seasons, written by the late Judge 

 Belden, is so true and terse that I think I may be pardoned if I 

 present it here entire. 



"Beginning with the month of October, the signs of a 

 coming change are apparent. The winds, no longer constant 

 from one quarter, become variable both as to direction and force, 

 or wholly cease. Sudden blasts raise miniature whirlwinds of 

 dust and leaves which troop over the fields, and the stillness of 

 the night is broken by fitful gusts and the sudden wail of the 

 trees, as the breath of the coming winter sweeps through them. 

 These are the recognised precursors of the season's change, and 

 are usually followed in the first ten days of October by an inch 

 or more of rain, and this, usually, by weeks of the finest 

 weather. The effect of these first rains is magical. The dust is 

 washed from the foliage, and is laid on the roads and fields. 

 The air has a fresh sparkle and life. The skies are of a deeper 

 azure, and the soft brown hills seem nearer and fairer than 

 before. It is the Indian summer of the East ; but, instead of 

 the soft lassitude of the dying year, here it comes with all the 

 freshness and vigour of the new-born spring. If in this and the 

 succeeding months there are further showers, the grass grows 

 up on every hand, and the self-sow T n grain in all the fields. 

 The hills change their sober russet for a lively green. Wild 

 flowers appear in every sheltered nook. Hyacinths and crocuses 

 bloom in the gardens, and the perfume of the violet is every- 

 where in the air. In the latter part of November the rainy 

 season is fully established. A coming storm is now heralded 

 by a strong, steady wind, blowing for a day or two from the 

 south-east, usually followed by several days of rain, and these 

 are succeeded by days or weeks without a cloud — and thus 

 alternating between occasional storms and frequent sunshine is 

 the weather from October to April — the rainy season in Cali- 

 fornia. The amount of rain that falls varies materially with 

 the locality. In San Jose it is from 15 in. to 20 in., while in 

 places not ten miles distant twice that amount is recorded. 

 During this period there are from thirty to forty days on which 



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